I was bombing on TikTok. I tried making videos in English and in Spanish. I created travel vlogs, restaurant guides and several recipes. But none of it was resonating — until I finally cracked the code and started going viral, including with one of my favorite recipes: crispy smashed potatoes.
In the past few years, sharing healthy recipes on Instagram had become a passion of mine. I loved the idea of creating a dish in my own kitchen, then making a video that could inspire other cooks to try it too.
So I spent countless hours trying to figure out TikTok’s “for you” page — where the algorithm spews out a never-ending stream of addictive content. I immersed myself in the world of a soft-spoken beekeeper. A mom cooking for her 12 kids. An actual mermaid.
I learned that the app isn’t just about jokes and dancing. Some of the most fascinating TikTokers offer a window into their daily lives. What’s mundane to them — working in the South Pole or as a shearer — can be fascinating to the rest of us.
I work as an editor for The Washington Post based in Rio de Janeiro and soon realized that TikTok is location-based, meaning my videos were going out to a Brazilian audience. I decided to give Portuguese-language recipes a shot, showing how I use avocado as the savory filling for a tapioca, a Brazilian crepe. I explained that Americans tend to eat avocado with salt, not sugar, as it’s often served here. The views rolled in, reaching nearly 700,000. I uploaded a video of my typical breakfast — literally just a banana smoothie: 1.4 million views. Tomato soup. Oats. More smoothies.
All those recipes went viral.
Advertisement
Most commenters were kind, but some chuckled over how I struggle to pronounce “peanuts” in Portuguese. Others were surprised to see a “gringa” eating something other than burgers and fries. Before long, my “for you” page was filled with videos of Brazilians in the United States showing some of the foods consumed there, drawing quips over the boxed mac ’n’ cheeses, the frozen Trader Joe’s dinners and — overwhelmingly — the lack of rice and beans.
No wonder so many people were surprised that I was cooking. Those videos weren’t showing the full picture.
I absolutely refused to make french fries. Instead, to show how I cook potatoes, I shared a video of me preparing crispy smashed potatoes. I boiled baby potatoes, pressed them and roasted them with olive oil, salt and black pepper until they were crisp and golden. I finished them with a sprinkle of garlic powder and served them with a homemade sauce — not ketchup.
Advertisement
Within hours of publishing the recipe, the video had reached tens of thousands of views, then topped off at 1.6 million. Months later, I’m still getting tagged as people reshare the video on TikTok and Instagram — more so than any other recipe I’ve shared.
I rarely see comments anymore about how odd it is to see a gringa eating something other than fries and processed foods. My next goal: figuring out exactly how to say “peanuts.”
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7uK3SoaCnn6Sku7G70q1lnKedZLOwu8NoaWlqYmR9eHuQcmacqpmovbp5z6irmqyfmsBuwMikq6ijXaeypLXPnmY%3D